Page 2 of The Night Prince

“Oh, well…” Varhad stroked his beard in contemplation of the destruction of that much precious alcohol.But then he laughed, “That won’t happen this time!”

“I’m sure Helgrom will appreciateyourcertainty abouthisalcohol.”Finley shook his blonde head.The lenses of his round, wire-rimmed glasses flashed with reflected firelight as he did so.

Helgrom might hold no official position of power among the dwarves or other high fantasy beings, but all respected him.And they feared him a little too, especially when he gave anyone that 1000-yard, fiery stare of his.

“But Helgrom’s not here tonight, is he, Finley?He’s buying more alcohol and food for the Sun King’s arrival,” Snaglak pointed out with a child-like innocence that hardly fit his seven-foot two-inch, gray-skinned, massive orc frame.

Snaglak was sitting beside Finley, allegedly “helping” Declan’s best friend get ready for the final fight he was DMing the next night, but in reality, he was keeping an eye on Finley for Declan.Though most of the high fantasy beings ignored humans, if they thought of them much at all, some were outwardly hostile.And Declan wanted nothing to happen to his bookish best friend while he was pulling beers behind the bar if one of those bastards decided to give Finley a hard time.

Finley sighed audibly and pinched the top of his nose at the orc’s failure to understand his point “No, he’s not, Snaglak.”

“Oh, so there’s no one in charge then?”Strofin’s beady, black eyes narrowed.

“Ah, Declan is!Declan’s in charge!”Finley cried out, affronted on Declan’s behalf.

Declan did not respond, but he watched the goblin speculatively.Was he going to be trouble? Even Varhad shifted a little uneasily in his seat as his eyes flickered between Strofin and Declan.Varhad was a regular and knew that Declan wasn’t like other humans.

“Ach, well, Declan’s only trying to save the booze there.But the fairies won’t make itallgo bad!”Varhad chuckled a little uneasily.

“Definitely not all of it!”Snaglak guzzled the remainder of his beer.He patted his rock hard stomach. “Safe as could be in here.”

“But you’re not thinking about yournextmug, Snaglak,” Finley pointed out to the orc.“And what about the one after that or the one even after that?Or are you done drinking for the next week? That’s how much alcohol will go sour if this goes on.”

“Next–nextweek?”Snaglak’s gray-skinned face fell as he stared down at his empty mug.“Declan, stop those fairies!”

But Strofin had the virtual chorus going on again with, “FAIRY FIGHT!FAIRY FIGHT!FAIRY FIGHT!”

Declan grunted in disbelief that the customers would encourage such violence.At least, such violence against thealcohol.He knew well enough that their patrons would be happy to see Snow and Rain both carted out of there, unconscious or worse. But ruining good beer and wine?They truly must be bored to suggest it. Evidently, the Sun King could not come soon enough to his new home.

But the fairies were already committed even without the egging on.Their magical bolts burst out of their wands with a high whine like the sound of twin bottle rockets as the bolts raced along the bar.Declan moved from the back room to the bar so quickly that to those who watched it was as if between one blink and the next he had teleported.

He slammed the metal keg down on the onyx slab between the fairies.The keg was laced with silver–it made the beer taste better, according to Helgrom–but, more importantly in this situation, silver had the ability to repel fairy magic.The bolts impacted the keg and reflected them right back at Rain and Snow.With a squeal of unwelcome surprise, the two feuding fairies were struck by their own magic.Red electrical light sizzled over Rain’s slender limbs while Snow was covered in an ever-spreading sheet of ice.Both landed on the bar with athunk.

They were still alive, but Declan wondered if they’d wish otherwise when Helgrom found out he’d had to use the special honey brew to stop their duel.It was likely both flat and sour after being struck with their magic regardless of the silver’s reflective properties. Yet one keg lost was better thaneverykeg lost.

Declan peeled the unconscious fairies off the bar and put them in a birdcage that had been adapted into a fairy jail.It was a rare night when it wasn’t filled with half a dozen of the winged beings. There had been a lot of disputes about bar tabs these days.

“Aw!Over before it began!”Varhad grumped.

Declan turned narrowed green eyes upon the dwarf who quickly hid his face in his beer mug.Helgrom was not the only one at the Dawn who was known to have a dangerous stare.

Strofin snorted in disgust.“Why are you letting him intimidate you, Varhad?He’s just ahumanafter all!”

Yep, definitely trouble, Declan thought.

Varhad made a frantic movement for Strofin to shut up.“Strofin, let’s not go there with–”

“Please!What is thehumangoing to do about it?They’re slow, weak and easily killed.No magic either.Without the Aravae protecting them they’d all be dead,” Strofin spoke loudly enough so that everyone could hear.“The Leviathan would have drained them to dust!Maybe they should have!”

For a moment, Declan remembered the sudden and unexpected dawn that had spread like golden fire over the streets and houses of Lightwell that had marked the arrival of the Sun King and his army.He could still feel the pain of that light on his exposed skin.For a moment back then he’d feared he would have been burned away just as the Leviathan had been by those deadly rays.

But then the light had subsided like the retreating of the sea at low tide.And as his eyes had adjusted, he’d been able to see the Sun King on the horizon, sitting astride a white horse, golden hair blowing in the wind, silver armor flashing, with magic limning his hands and the sword he had raised into the air. Declan had never forgotten that moment.It had seemed both like a miracle and the end of the world.And, in a way, it had been both.

“Declan’s–ah, Declan’s not like other humans,” Varhad began even as his eyes were flickering from Declan to the goblin as if measuring the space between them.“Not that humans are bad or anything.They’re just–”

“They’re just a drain on the economy,” Strofin continued with disgust.“They’repets, but they want to pretend to be our equals.It’s pathetic really.And now one of them stops our fun?Who does he think he is?”

These were familiar hateful words so they barely registered to Declan as a personal affront any longer.Yet he knew that the more people were allowed to say such things without consequences, the more others would follow through on those words with violence.And that would put humans like his best friend in greater danger than they were of Leviathan attack.So Declanneverlet such words pass.

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